The Vietnam National Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) targets revenue of VND19.5 trillion ($877.5 million) in the 2016-2020 period, which would give it a market share of 33 per cent and rank it second in the mobile network market.

“VNPT has nearly completed its restructuring process under the direction of the government,” a representative from VNPT told VET after a meeting between the group and Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan on June 9.

She added, though, that the equitization plan for the Hospital of Posts and Telecoms is not yet completed.

“The government has decided to retain the hospital within the administration of VNPT, not the Ministry of Health as originally planned,” she told VET.

“VNPT has submitted the equitization plan for the hospital to the government and is now awaiting approval.”

At the meeting, Mr. Pham Duc Long, General Director of VNPT, said the group has gone through three phases in implementing its restructuring.

In the first phase, which began on April 1, 2014, it reformed its infrastructure and staff in all subsidiaries, with staff numbers falling by 10 to 20 per cent as a result.

In the second phase, starting on July 1, 2015, it launched three subsidiaries, including a telecommunications network infrastructure company (VNPT Net), a telecommunications services company (VNPT Vinaphone), and a media company (VNPT Media).

At the same time it also divested from 14 of the planned 63 subsidiaries.

In the third phase, from October 1, 2015, VNPT is aiming to restructure its board and apply new management models.

The result was the group reducing its employee numbers from 500 to 300.

In IT, it will focus on key areas such as smart city, e-government, health, education, and environmental resources.

According to a report on the 2011-2015 period, VNPT recorded profit of more than VND37 trillion ($1.66 billion), equal to 101 per cent of its plan, with growth averaging 1.6 per cent each year.

The group previously targeted divesting from 63 enterprises in five sectors: real estate, insurance, the stock market, finance, and banking, and is focusing on selling subsidiaries facing difficulties as quickly as possible.

Chairman Tran Manh Hung said the divestments would help the group to develop. It is now undergoing restructuring, he said, and wherever it has many subsidiaries operating in the same sector they will be rearranged.

But if subsidiaries are recording good business performance they will receive continued support.

After divestments so far, the group has charter capital of VND72.237 trillion ($3.24 billion) and is owned by the State.

VNPT’s main business lines involve trading in telecommunications and information technology products and services and multimedia, and consulting, designing, installing, operating, and repairing IT facilities.

It also researches, develops, manufactures, trades, exports, and imports telecommunications, information and multimedia products.

According to a report from the Ministry of Information and Communications, telecoms businesses earned total revenue of an estimated VND340 trillion ($15.3 billion) in 2015, with profit estimated at VND56 trillion ($2.52 billion).

VNPT’s revenue was estimated at VND89.1 trillion ($4 billion) in 2015, an increase of 7.5 per cent year-on-year.

MobiFone’s revenue was estimated at VND37 trillion ($1.66 billion), an increase of 8.29 per cent year-on-year, while Viettel earned an estimated VND222.7 trillion ($10.02 billion) in revenue, up 13 per cent year-on-year.

VN Economic Times